Is this your first year doing NaNoWriMo?
YesWhy did you decide this was the year?This time last year I hadn’t even heard of NaNoWriMo. The idea I want to develop has been in my head for a long time, I just keep putting it off. NaNoWriMo will give me the chance to see if it works as a novel.
If yes, what is your greatest fear?I’ve written lots of flash fiction this year being very precise with the words I use, I’m not sure I can write 50,000 words!How much preparation do you plan to do before November 1st?I’m getting worried I haven’t done enough.Got anything you'd like to tell us about this year’s project?I’m planning to rewrite a Bible story and give it a modern twist. I’ve chosen the book of Esther, a story with romance, intrigue and tense power struggles. It is about discrimination and standing up for your beliefs.I am hoping that having a story that is already planned out will make the process easier – I’ll let you know in December if this is TRUE!
Two years ago my husband died unexpectedly from a heart attack. I was only 42 and left with 2 sons aged 13 and 10 to bring up alone.
Two weeks after Andrew died, on what would have been his 49th birthday I started writing a blog www.unravelling-edges.blogspot.co.uk. Writing both poetry and prose about my experiences helped me process my grief.
(This picture of oak leaves was the background for my blog in the beginning. They still looked green, and not ready to fall. Yet autumn quickly turned to winter with a lot of early snow that year. Nature was caught out by the change in the weather in the same way I was caught out by my unexpected change of circumstances.)After a year I started a new blog www.re-ravelling.blogspot.co.uk. There is no opposite word for unravelling so I made up re-ravelling, if Shakespeare can make up words then why not? I wanted to write about how I am putting the pieces of my life back together and creating something new from the loose unravelled threads.
I have continued writing my own story but more and more I have been writing flash fiction, mostly inspired by Lillie McFerrin’s Five Sentence Fiction and Angela Goff’s Visual Dares.
In the last twelve months I have met so many fabulous writing friends on-line. The encouragement and support has been amazing and given me confidence in my ability to write. And most importantly, at this moment in time, a belief that I CAN WRITE A WHOLE NOVEL!
A highlight of the year was having my story “A Moment before Moving” published in the Once Upon a Time anthology.
(Every cloud has a silver lining, or so they say. This photo was taken near the spot we scattered Andrew’s ashes on the first anniversary of his death.)
I've really enjoyed the Visual dares and snippets etc that you've put up connected with your NaNo story. You've succeeded in breathing a new storyline and it's got so much potential, your words so far make you a NaNo Winner, Sarah, all the best with the rest of it as it grows over time!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! I would love to read your story when it's all finished!
ReplyDeleteThis interview was honest and brave. Sarah, you are a winner! =D
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